


After Hours

by CelestialBronze



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26996773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialBronze/pseuds/CelestialBronze
Summary: A collection of drabbles based on each episode of Miraculous Ladybug! Every chapter correlates with each episode, released in order of airdate (mostly).
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Kudos: 6





	After Hours

**Author's Note:**

> I want to get back into fic writing, but I also want that writing to be as good as it can, so I'm starting a drabble series as I rewatch Miraculous Ladybug. I'd like to keep it as canon as possible, as the whole concept is moments not in the show, however there will be some deviance for interest's sake, and if I ever change a scene, I'll rewrite it. These drabbles will all be in the same universe, and will somewhat follow a plot. Enjoy!

Adrien ran his hand over the silk lining of his new scarf for what seemed to be the fiftieth time now, admiring the subtle inflections and textures that only a well-practiced designer could add. Plagg had retired to his cheese cabinet long ago, muttering something about silk not being edible, but Adrien couldn’t sleep. Not after yesterday.

For years, his birthdays had consisted of the same routine: wake up, eat, work, eat, receive a pen, sleep. It wasn’t the most exciting celebration, sure, but what could Adrien really do? He didn’t have any friends to share a party with back then, so he just took what he could get.

This year was different, though. This year, Adrien had friends, friends that actually cared for him instead of his status. Nino didn’t care that he was one of the most famous figures in Paris, or that Gabriel had half the city under his spell of fear. He had gone up to Gabriel and almost demanded that Adrien have a birthday party. No one had cared to do that since… 

Well, since his mother.

What Nino said must’ve reached Gabriel at least a little bit, because when Adrien sat back down for dinner after the hectic battle, he had received a present that wasn’t a simple Gabriel-brand pen. He had received a baby blue scarf straight from his father.

It had been the highlight of his day, and the next day he had paraded around the scarf on his neck, showing it to everyone who walked by. It really was a beautiful piece of work, and not a small number of people gasped at the sight. Marinette and Alya in particular were very pleased at him wearing the article, but Marinette seemed to have a solemn look in her eye. Adrien didn’t pay much attention to it, however, as Kim had walked by and Adrien rushed to show him the scarf as well. Now here he was, still admiring the gift, still reveling in the fact that his father wanted to make him something for his birthday.

Deep in reflection, Adrien didn’t notice the slight imperfection on the scarf until he ran his finger over it. Compared to the silk the rest of the scarf was made of, this material was threaded through the scarf, but colored and sized in a way that it wasn’t noticeable to the naked eye. It seemed to spell something out, although Adrien couldn’t make out the name.

Curious, he looked closer at the stitching. His lights were out except for a lamp beside his bed, so it wasn’t the clearest image. Still, he was able to make out letters, and after studying it for a bit longer, Adrien deduced that it was probably a signature. Sighing, he reluctantly set aside the scarf, slipping into bed- 

And immediately jumped back up to grab the scarf again.

It was a signature, right? Adrien knew that much about fashion, after working in it for so many years. Why, then, did the first letter not have the roundness of the letter “G” and instead have the jagged edges of the letter “M”? 

The commotion had alerted Plagg, and he phased through his cabinet to hover in front of Adrien. “What’s got you all excited?” the kwami drawled lazily, stretching his arms behind his tiny back.

Adrien disregarded the question, instead holding the scarf up to the lightbulb in his lamp. The light made the threading stand out more, enough for Adrien to clearly see what it said. The name didn’t read “Gabriel Agreste”. It read “Marinette Dupain-Cheng”.

“Why would Marinette’s name be on my scarf?” Adrien wondered out loud. 

He kept staring incredulously at the label, Plagg huffing in exasperation at the sight.

“Designers put their names on their stuff, right?” Plagg asked. 

Adrien responded with a small nod, prompting Plagg to continue. “Clearly, the girl made the scarf, not your dad.”

Plagg had made it sound like the most natural thing in the world, yet Adrien was still reeling from the discovery. His father had lied to him? The present was fake? After all these birthdays, he still didn’t care. Gabriel couldn’t care less about his own son’s birthday.

The more Adrien thought about it, however, the more he realized that he didn’t actually care about that. He wasn’t angry or disappointed, he was surprised. Maybe even… grateful?

Adrien was used to his father ignoring him, it had been happening for years now. Never in his life, however, would he have though Marinette would’ve made something like this for him. It was so intricate, made like a professional, that he knew she would’ve had to spend days, maybe weeks crafting this. He had paraded around Marinette’s work, not his father’s. His classmate Marinette Dupain-Cheng cared enough about him to  _ create _ a present for him when his own father hadn’t bothered.

A smile slowly appeared on Adrien’s face, and he fell back on his mattress, wrapping his arms around the scarf like it could vanish at any minute. “Ugh, not again,” Plagg muttered, heading back to his cheese. “You sappy humans, too wrapped up in emotions…”

Adrien ignored him, turning off his light. Maybe his scarf would need washing in the morning, but he had no intentions of letting it go tonight. After being lonely for so long, after not being shown affection, not being shown love for years, Adrien now had three people he could call his friends. Ladybug, Nino, and now Marinette. With a content sigh, he drifted off to sleep, the thought of Marinette at her desk stitching his-  _ his! _ \- scarf staying with him until his last moments of consciousness.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and criticisms are appreciated!


End file.
